Cedar Creek Theatre was chosen for the prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse Adopt-A-School Project for 2019 through 2023!
The Paper Mill Playhouse Adopt-A-School Project is a four-phase, four-year, arts-in-education initiative aimed at bringing the arts directly into New Jersey's high school classrooms. The program employs observation and participation in the performing arts as a means of intensifying academic studies, teaching cultural and functional literacy skills, developing an informed arts audience for tomorrow and enhancing the educational experience of today.
Paper Mill founded the Adopt-A-School Project in 1989 to fulfill that portion of its organizational mission that called for the enlightenment, enrichment, and education of its
audience. In addition, the program was designed to develop future audiences by introducing New Jersey high school students to the performing arts, to stimulate partnerships between educators, artists, and businesses and to encourage the permanent inclusion of arts programming as an integral part of New Jersey's educational system.
The Adopt-A-School Project also addresses securing a viable place for the arts in the complicated educational system. The program seeks to empower students and teachers alike through an enhanced delivery system for arts education, the focal point of which is direct access to the artist in the day-to-day environment of the classroom. Through this program, Paper Mill provides young people with choices and possibilities that are often denied because of economic constraint, geographic and/or social discrimination. For many, Paper Mill provided their first live performance experience.
In 1992, the Adopt-A-School Project was selected by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a model arts-in-education program and was cited in the publication, Community Arts: Partnerships for Education. In 1998, Paper Mill Playhouse was cited by Stage Directions Magazine as “One of Ten Theatres Making a Difference” based on the success of the theatre’s educational outreach initiatives, specifically the Adopt-A-School Project.
Paper Mill founded the Adopt-A-School Project in 1989 to fulfill that portion of its organizational mission that called for the enlightenment, enrichment, and education of its
audience. In addition, the program was designed to develop future audiences by introducing New Jersey high school students to the performing arts, to stimulate partnerships between educators, artists, and businesses and to encourage the permanent inclusion of arts programming as an integral part of New Jersey's educational system.
The Adopt-A-School Project also addresses securing a viable place for the arts in the complicated educational system. The program seeks to empower students and teachers alike through an enhanced delivery system for arts education, the focal point of which is direct access to the artist in the day-to-day environment of the classroom. Through this program, Paper Mill provides young people with choices and possibilities that are often denied because of economic constraint, geographic and/or social discrimination. For many, Paper Mill provided their first live performance experience.
In 1992, the Adopt-A-School Project was selected by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a model arts-in-education program and was cited in the publication, Community Arts: Partnerships for Education. In 1998, Paper Mill Playhouse was cited by Stage Directions Magazine as “One of Ten Theatres Making a Difference” based on the success of the theatre’s educational outreach initiatives, specifically the Adopt-A-School Project.
YEAR ONE – OURSTAGE (Observation Phase) – 2019-2020
OurStage introduces the joys of live theatre from an audience perspective by treating adopted students as Paper Mill subscribers for one full season.
Typical seminars include:
- Students attend four (4) Thursday matinee performances at Paper Mill, experiencing a wide array of productions in varying theatrical styles.
- Comprehensive Audience Guides prepared by the Paper Mill staff support each production with background information geared toward providing a fuller understanding of the production’s context and content. The Guides not only reinforce the performance experience for the student, but also provide valuable teaching tools for teachers.
- Pre-performance seminars prior to each performance focus on the process of creation of theatrical productions.
Typical seminars include:
- History of Paper Mill Playhouse and its place as a leading regional theatre in the spectrum of American Theatre production
- Directing and Staging Theatrical Productions – Music, Dance & Drama
- Backstage and Design for Theatre including an exclusive Backstage Tour
- Performer Insights on having a career onstage featuring exclusive guest seminars
YEAR TWO – SKILLSTAGE (Participation Phase) – 2021-2022
SkillStage provides a sequential experience in the arts and gives students the opportunity to put what they have observed in year one into practice.
- Field Trip – Students attend one (1) mainstage performance at Paper Mill Playhouse.
- Workshops - A full day of three (3) workshops led by teaching artists in the performing arts are arranged at Paper Mill Playhouse.
- Fall ArtsFest – Three (3) master class level workshops led by prominent artists in the performing arts are held at Paper Mill Playhouse. All adopted schools in this phase converge and intermingle. In the afternoon, a re-cap or sharing of the day is topped off by students as they become the audience for YEAR THREE’s YourStage original theatre performances in the Paper Mill auditorium. ArtsFest Workshops can include creative drama, mime, Shakespeare, group singing, Broadway dance, stage combat, accent and dialect study, audition technique, etc.
YEAR THREE – YOURSTAGE (Creation Phase) – 2022-2023
- Field Trip – Students attend one (1) mainstage performance at Paper Mill Playhouse.
- Resident Teaching Artist – The primary goals are to challenge imaginations and aesthetic understandings and develop decision making and collaborative skills. A student theatre company is formed in each school to create an original theatre work, guided by professional artists in residency in the classroom. In addition to performing, students can work in backstage capacities as producers, directors, writers, designers, and stage managers.
- The number of interactions with the artist is flexible and dependent upon the scheduling needs of each individual school district, but ten (10) rehearsals is typical.
- Fall ArtsFest – The final production is performed by the students on the Paper Mill stage during Fall ArtsFest. Schools may also choose to perform their work in a variety of other venues.
YEAR FOUR – NEXTSTAGE (Preparation Phase) – 2023-2024
Students return to the Paper Mill’s mainstage and watch shows with a critical eye.
- Students receive tickets to performances for up to four (4) mainstage productions.
- Students are required to complete online surveys about the show and their experiences.